A major explanation of the recent rise in U.S. delayed marriage and marital instability attributes them to changes in women's economic behavior and tends to discount the possibly substantial causal role of the observed deterioration in young men's economic position, particularly that of blacks. Using the National Longitudinal Survey, Youth Cohorts (NLSY), and an event history methodology, we investigate this issue via a detailed analysis of the magnitude of the impact of young men's socioeconomic characteristics on their marriage behavior, focusing on both blacks and whites. Applying job-search theory to marriage-markets, the research emphasizes the uncertainties involved in the career-entry process and the resulting impact on marriage behavior. The effects of two types of variables indicative of a young man's career status will be explored in depth. One is the level of career "maturity' (school enrollment, employment stability, wage adequacy, type of job, etc.) and the other is the degree of career "disengagement" (e.g., neither employed nor in school nor in the military; substance abuse, illegal activities, etc.). We hypothesize that both career immaturity and disengagement impede marriage formation and promote early marital instability. A major goal is to assess the relative importance of the career maturity and engagement variables in explaining the large black/white differences in marriage timing and marital instability.